Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1887-01-22
WASHINGTON LETTER.
WASHINGTON. Jan. IT, 1887.

W Aoots
There are ten books in the secret
archives of the United States Patent
Office for which patent attorneys in
Washington would be willing to
give 100000. They are the books
containing the names and addresses
OF inventors whose cases have been
rejected during the past fen years.
There has been an average of $4,000
cases filed in the Patent Office every
year for the last ten years and a
yearly average of $4,000 patents
granted. Last year there were 3d.
900 applications filed and $4,000
patents issued, the largest number
in any one year. On this showing
something like 60 per cent. of the
applications have been patented. So
there have been during the last ten
years about 100000 rejected eases.
These in part include cases defeated
interferences and applications allow
ed, but on which final fees have not
been paid.
Now good attorneys get fully so
per cent. of their cases allowed and
patented; hence there must be some
reason for only 60 per cent. of the
applications being allowed. The
reason is this: fully 5000 inventors
every year make out their own cases
and try to get them through the
Patent Office. Not knowing the
routine they almost invariably get in
the meshes of red tape and the ill.,
tricacIes of Patent Office procedure.
The difficulty may he slight, mere
informality, a defective drawing, an
improperly worded application, an
indefinite specification, or slight
interference requiring few amend
ments which skillful patent attorney
could make in half an hour. But to
the inventor these prove an insur-
mountable obstacle; his application
is rejected and he gives up in disgust
or despair.
Applications for patents in the
United States Patent Office go first
to the twenty eight principal exami-
ners, according to the subject mat
ter. If they are rejected, two years
are allowed in which to amend them
or take other necessary action. If no
action shall have been taken at the
end of two years, such cases are
treated as abandoned, and are sent
to the division where they are enter
ed in the books which the Patent
Attorneys so much covet. Fully 90.
900 of the rejected cases of the last
ten years fall under these conditions.
At low estimate $4,000 of these
rejected cases put in the hands of a
competent attorney, could be patent
ed. A patent attorneys fees on such
conditional cases would be about S26
per Casa gross sum of $685., 600.
Count out Disguised inventors and
those not able to pay, still an enor-
nous number would get out patents
if they knew how. But the trouble
is just here-no one outside the Pat
CIiU OLlCC 10 dllONC ttCCCoS w UtiOoC
file books. And without them they
can not learn the name and address
of inventors. Then again, there are
some $4,000 cases now lying in the
Examiaer's room awaiting the two
years limit. These are still more
valuable, for they are taken up be-
fore the tilne-limit expires, the initial
fees do not lapse, while in the other
cases they would have to be repaid.
The practice in the United States
Patent Office was not always thus.
During Grants first term, for a peri.
cd of about a year, attorneys were
allowed access to all letter books and
previous to that had been allowed
access to the files of abandoned cases,
but there was a constant scramble
and not infrequently downright
fights over them, and about 1876
the Patent Office made them secret.